Walking Sticks and Healthy Hikes

Don Smith is the Senior Park Aid at Rockport State Park but he is also a long-time artist. He put his art to use in the park by offering a hiker incentive in the “Healthy Hikes” program. Participants who hike 100 miles in Rockport State Park during 2016 will earn a hand-carved walking stick from Don. Miles can be logged on staff-led hikes or anytime in 2016 on one’s own. The log must be completed at the park after each hike. Rockport State Park is a 670-acre park in an ancient forest. The old growth was never logged and the park offers a rare natural forest, which stands at the foot of Sauk Mountain. Rockport also boasts an ADA-accessible trail.

Don works in a variety of media including watercolor and oil painting, screen printing, theatrical sets, graphic design and wood carving, His work has been displayed in shows in the Skagit Valley, Seattle and Denmark, with pieces in private collections all over the U.S. and Western Europe. His murals are across the country from Puget Sound to San Francisco to Portland, Maine. Locally, his murals can be seen in Seattle’s Pike Place Market, in Concrete on Main Street, in the Concrete Museum and high school gym, and the Snohomish High School library. Look for him in person at the Conway Muse and the Burlington Art Walk, and watch for his beautiful hiking sticks to start showing up in the hands of Healthy Hikers!

Rockport State Park is located near the junction of Highways 20 and 530. For more information on Rockport State Park, call 360-853-8461 or visit www.parks.state. wa.us/574/Rockport